When Alice gets there, she starts crying. And begging Chris to get better.

[Alice] “I’m so sorry I left you. But I’m back now. I’m here.”

Oh, this is all so sad.

Tom couldn’t’ even be ars*d buying salad

Brenda called Tom to say that she’d be home late. Something about Lilian leaving her all the CP12s to do (whatever they are), and Matt expecting a report.

She’s rather stressed.

So Tom offers to start off supper.

When Brenda gets in:

[Brenda] “This is what you call making a start in supper! Pizza!! Frozen Pizza!!!”

Goodness – Tom didn’t even have the sense to order the “decent ones” in.

[Tom] “They’re ok these. We’ve had them before.”

[Brenda] “And you couldn’t be bothered to make a salad!”

Tom reckons he checked the fridge, but there wasn’t any. Brenda points out that there’s a shop just over the way.

[Tom] “I didn’t think.”

[Brenda] “No. You never do.”

[Tom] “This is exactly what I was trying to get across to mum the other day about the vg boxes, but she wouldn’t listen …”

[Brenda] “Okay, just stop. Stop right there. Just listen to yourself, Tom. Could you please just step out of your self-obsessed little world. Just for once. Can’t you put yourself in someone else’s shoes?”

[Tom] “What are you talking about?”

[Brenda] “I’m talking about you. You’ve got your work cut out with your mum and dad, do you know that. You’ve got a repair job to do … they have slogged on that farm for 30 years … and you steam in, rubbishing it all … never mind that your dad is supposed to be avoiding stress … they were floored by what you said about going non organic with your wretched ready meals … not a thought they might have a valid opinion.”

[Tom] “They’ve got it wrong. I’m future proofing.”

[Brenda] “Future proofing? As far as you’re concerned, the future is you and your plans … Tom Archers is right, and they better realise it.”

[Tom] “You’ve exaggerating.”

[Brenda] “I don’t think you listen to them at all.”

[Tom] “I obviously haven’t explained myself properly.”

[Brenda] “You should go round and apologise to them … instead of batting around half-baked ideas one after the other, for god sake if you want to tear up everything they stand for, do it with some vestige of sensitivity.”

[Tom] “Is that what you think of me?”

[Brenda] “Yeah. I’m sorry, but it is.”

Blimey!

Brenda had been bottling that up for some time. But what a relief that she said it.

Tom might have to shelve his impregnation plans.

Freddie talks to Ifty

While looking at Cranford Chrystal, Freddie opens up to Ifty about Chris.

[Freddie] “Cranford Crystal has a lovely temperament but all horses need you to show them that your boss … horses can be unpredictable too.”

[Ifty] “You know that than most.”

[Freddie] “Yes, I do …”

Ifty says it must have been horrible for Freddie to have seen that horse kick Chris.

So, Freddie tells him what happened. Or, at least, what happened from his point of view.

Freddie reckons it was him dropping the bucket and then yelling that had set the horse off.

But, Ifty has spotted a flaw. Freddie said Chris had his back to the horse, while he had her leg in-between his legs to get to the hoof. But, he was kicked in the chest. So it wasn’t Freddie dropping the bucket that frightened the horse, it was Chris standing up suddenly to shout at Freddie.

(which, erm, still means it was Freddie’s fault … surely?)

[Freddie] “It was an awful sound. A thump. I felt sick. He kind of flew through the air, he looked like this doll Lily has, made of cloth.”

[Ifty] “What a terrible thing to see.”

[Freddie] “It was all my fault, if I hadn’t tripped …”

[Ifty] “No. That’s not right.”

Ifty reasons that accidents happen. And that there’s nothing Freddie could have done to have changed what happened. Not without going far, far back in time:

[Freddie] “To Infinity.”

[Ifty] “And beyond!”

So why won’t Freddie talked to Elizabeth?

[Freddie] “I saw Chris, but she saw dad, after she fell, it would remind her, wouldn’t it?”

[Ifty] “She knows how important it is to talk about it.”

[Freddie] “So, it wasn’t my fault then?”

[Ifty] “No, accidents happen.”

And Ifty reckons that if Freddie hasn’t been there, the ambulance wouldn’t have been called as soon.

Hmmm.

I reckon that if Freddie hadn’t dropped that bucket …

A maths trail. What fun!

Well, Elizabeth seems to be looking forward to it.

Ifty’s organising one at Felpersham’s Science Museum, and wants Freddie to test it. Well, and Lily. And, he supposes, Elizabeth might like to come too.